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So, I’ve been going through my files from when I was in school, earning my MFA in Creative Writing, and I came across this exercise I had done in which I was supposed to tell a story with only dialogue. I believe it had to have at least two characters, though I can’t say for certain. But I wanted to share it with you because it was kind of fun to read it again. You all might enjoy it, too.

~~~~~~~~~

“Did you hear that?”

“Hm? Hear what?”

“I… thought I heard something.”

“Like what?”

“…Like rustling in the trees.”

“Haha, What?”

“It’s not funny!”

“It’s a little funny. I mean, there’s wind and animals, and then there’s trees. It’s only natural for there to be rustling.”

“Whatever! I saw this movie. You know, that one where the people get stuck on the dirt road in the middle of Hicksville and a bunch of deformed inbreeders murder them in the most unbelievable, gory way possible.”

“Wrong Turn?”

“Yah, that one!”

“Well, we didn’t take any wrong turns, so relax.”

“Sure we didn’t, but the tire blew out just like in the movie.”

“Ha! Okay, now you are just being silly. The tire blew out on its own, not because someone sabotaged us. Good thing I remembered to bring the jack this time.”

“Maybe I should go back down the road and check that no one sabotaged us.”

“You want to walk down the creepy, dirt road by yourself?”

“Well—Well, no, but I thought maybe you could come along. It would only take a minute.”

“Oh, come on. I’m right in the middle of changing the tire. You can’t possibly be asking me to stop what I’m doing to come along with you while you feed your paranoia.”

“When you put it that way, you make me sound crazy.”

“You are being crazy right now. We’ve got 3 hours until the ceremony and only a couple hundred miles left to drive. I’d like to shower and shave before accepting my award.”

I bet if I’d asked you to look at some smelly, old rocks I saw back there you’d agree.”

So, yesterday Majora’s Mask was rereleased on 3DS. This game was a huge part of my childhood. I remember when it first came out, it was Christmas time and my brothers and sister and I pooled our money together in order to buy it and the expansion pack that was required to play it on the Nintendo 64. We had huge fans of Ocarina of Time, and I had loved the original, old school Legend of Zelda. So it was a big deal, buying that game together, and what was best was that we were able to get our hands on a gold cartridge version of the game. This was a huge deal to us.

I remember the day after Christmas our father took us to a Toys R Us that was a good 20 to 25 minutes away in order for us to get the expansion pack. My sister and I especially played the game a lot, just like we had with Ocarina of Time. And just like OOT, I would read to her the game text, and sometimes I would even make up my own language and read it to her in that. Mostly because I had played the game so many times that I grew bored of reading it over and over to her, so saying it in a made-up language made it fun for us.

While I loved Ocarina of Time probably the most, Majora’s Mask does have a special place in my heart, which is why I’ve playing it so much since receiving it yesterday. One of the things that has always stood out about this game is the extremely dark nature of it. As the title of this blog post states, it induces nightmares. Surprisingly, there are so many creepy things happening in this game. Whether done intentionally or not, Majora’s Mask is a fairly dark and somewhat horrific game.

First, we have the transformations. Throughout the game Link is given three masks that transform him into three different species: Deku, Goron, and Zora. Not only does he get the latter two from dead characters, which in itself isn’t too bad, the first time he puts any of the masks on, and animation plays that could easily disturb a person, even a grown adult. Link screams out in agony as he puts the masks on and takes them off, and a whirling animation plays to disorient the user. There is clearly a strong theme of death and coming to terms with it in this game, but why make the transformations so violent? Thankfully, you can skip them after the first time… and I always do.

Next, we interact with and come across many dead characters, not including the ones mentioned above. For example, the dancing guy on top of the mushroom in Termina Field or the dead soldier who can only be seen with the Lens of Truths. These are not the only ones, though, as we have Poes and the bone guys, as well as gidbo, who appear to be mummies. Not to mention the possible impending death of the entire world of Termina, which could imply everyone is either dead or potential dead. And there is a long-standing theory that Link might actually be dead himself and Termina is a sort of Purgatory, which explains why everyone is reminiscent of characters seen in Ocarina of Time. (Personally, while I don’t dislike that theory, I see Termina as more of a Wonderland or maybe a purgatory similar to the Lost Woods rather than to death.)

Moreover, the second most fear inducing aspects of the game would be Link’s duplicates. On the surface, these women seem so bad, but then we see the humanoid duplicate with its moonlike grin and dead, stoic eyes. Honestly, it seems ridiculous to be so afraid and so creeped out by this mannequin, but there’s something about the way it grins and stares as if it knows your fate and your secrets and can stare into your soul, and maybe even steal it for itself. *shutter* It doesn’t help that the Creepypasta BEN Drowned is so effectively disturbing (and, of course, my favorite). If you haven’t read that one, here’s the link; go do it now, but be warned it does induce nightmares, especially if you have played Majora’s Mask.

Finally, and probably most creepy, is the moon and all it represents. Not only is that moon outrageously scary for this type of game, with it’s disturbing grin and huge, sinister eyes, it also represents the impending doom of Termina. This particular world only has three days until destruction. Once the three days is up, the moon will crash into it and completely destroy it. Even though the moon is clearly moving at a snail’s pace, you can in fact watch it crash and obliterate everything… If you don’t turn back time fast enough. While the impending destruction is quite dark and foreboding, it’s only made nightmare inducing because of the moon’s design.

For a game that was sort of just slapped together, as I’ve read, it has a lot of depth and a lot of creep factor. There are so many other things to discover and so many creepy things within the story, that I strongly encourage others to get this game if they haven’t already. I would call it one of the creepiest non-horror games out there. Also, it helps that it makes me really nostalgic about those times with my younger siblings and family.

My most recent release was Misbegotten, which is a horror novelette about a video gamer who is being haunted by a mysterious and disturbing video game. It’s one of my favorite stories I’ve written so far because it involves a couple of things I really love: horror games and let’s players. So, I thought it would be fun to give you all my top 5 horror games list. I’m sure this is totally debatable, but they are the ones I’ve played and find to be the best. Feel free to tell me your favorites in the comments! Also, if you want to watch someone else play the game, I’ll include links to my favorite youtube gamers for the specific games.

Corpse Party

I’m sure I’ve gushed about how much I love this game. Corpse Party is not a typical horror game. It’s more of a weird hybrid of game and novel. Since I am an author and an avid gamer, I feel like it is the best of my two favorite things. (Well, two of my three favorite things. Movies are the third.) Corpse Party is about a group of classmates who perform a charm that pulls them into a deadly and disturbing alternate version of a school. They are stalked by ghosts and creeps, and other “monster.” The best part of this game is the horrific death scenes. They are well-written and disturbing. Honestly, the novelization is the greatest asset to this game. Even though there is some hilariously awkward dialogue in the game, it’s easy to feel for the characters. It’s sad when a character dies, and players find themselves on the edge of their seats, holding their breath and hoping that their favorite isn’t dead, and players (or watchers) breath sighs of relief when characters turn out okay (not for long!). Storytelling is all about making people feel something, and Corpse Party does that with amazing skill.

If you want to watch someone play this, I suggest Cry (Cryaotic). His play through is the absolute best, and of course, his voice is made of sex. He gets really into the narrative, and does an excellent job with reading.

Fatal Frame

Okay, this game freaked me the hell out. The atmosphere was intense and eerie; and viewing ghosts through a camera was just too terrifying. Honestly, I don’t know how I made it through this game alive because I can’t even watch a play through without my heart racing. I really love the idea of defeating enemies with a camera, but oh man is it scary! There’s nothing scarier than looking down a hallway and seeing nothing, only to lift a camera and see creepy ghosts lunging toward you in the camera viewer. *shutter* Just thinking about it makes me want to run and hide.

Now, I can’t suggest any gamer on youtube because none of the players I watch have done a play through. However, I think Cry did do a few videos before discontinuing, so you can take a look at those.

Silent Hill (Series… minus Homecoming)

It’s really hard for me to give a specific Silent Hill game for this part because all of them, excluding the horrible piece of crap that was Homecoming, have their intense and creepy moments. However, it is clear that there was a pretty clear distinction between the first three and the subsequent games. The first three are much more frightening than the rest, probably because they were made by the original Japanese team, but there were great things in some of the later games, too. The idea that you are just a regular dude (and girl on a couple of occasions) with no power, other than the ability to wield a flashlight and a pipe, is pretty frightening. Each installment has its own best attribute. The first and third game had Alessa, two had pyramid head, four had some creeptastic hauntings and the concept of being trapped in an apartment, and Shattered Memories had this excellent ambiguity with a very different game play from the others.

Also, as I mentioned on Facebook, I’m thrilled with PT. the playable trailer for the possible next installment Silent Hills. Not fond of the name or Norman Reedus (I like the guy, but I feel like they are using him to build hype), but I think it could potentially be a bad ass game. And finally, some fun Silent Hill play throughs to watch would be PewdiePie for SH1, Game Grumps for SM, and TheRadBrad for SH2.

Cry of Fear

This game has my favorite opening game play of all time. The rooms are engulfed in complete darkness, and the player must lead the character through with only a camera as a light source. So, to see (and move), the player must take a picture to set off the flash. Imagine all the creepy things lurking in the pitch darkness that can be viewed only for a tiny fraction of a second. It’s wonderful! ..in that intense, creepy way. There are some really messed up bad guys and psychological undertones that remind me a bit of the Silent Hill games. Overall, it’s a creepy game that’s fun to watch and play!

Five Nights at Freddy’s

Who knew it was possible to make a game about being a night guard for a creepy kids place with animatronic characters even more scary. But they did! I mean, let’s face it, animatronics are kind of creepy by themselves, so add the element of being trapped in camera room at night with limited power makes it even more frightening. But, oh no! It doesn’t end there. Let’s add the element of MOVING animatronics that try to murder you. You can’t move, but they can! These are the things nightmares are made of, guys! While this game is pretty new, it’s an outrageously frightening game. It doesn’t matter how prepared you are for the impending doom or the jumpscare or the power outage… it will get you. EVERY. TIME. Heartattack + Nightmare = This game. Pirate Cove guy and Teddy Bear will leave your pants wet. Just saying.

Of course, there are hundreds more amazing horror games, but that would be too much for one post. Some other really awesome ones worth mentioning are Ib, which is pixel horror; Amnesia: Dark Descent, which took me forever to beat due to having to constantly take breaks; the Resident Evil series; and The Last of Us.

So, now that we’ve talked about the bad and the ugly in terms of horror sequels, it’s time to wrap up this series with a positive note. If you missed the first two posts in the Horror Sequels series, in which I discuss horror sequels I’ve seen and horror sequels so bad I refused to watch them, then check them out after you’ve read this installment about good horror sequels.

I can’t say for certain that any of these are of the same standard as the first in their series, but I find them to be sequels that I have watched numerous times and still enjoyed, not because they are stupid or fun, but because they are good movies.

Aliens

Even though this movie did not have the same level of creep and cinematography as its predecessor, it is still a great movie. Sigourney is just as wonderful in this one as she is I the first, and it has Michael Biehn. What more does it need? Sure, we also see the creepy kid cliche, which worked in this movie. Ripley was no longer vulnerable enough, so the kid was added to help build that suspense and likability to the Ripley character. At least Newt wasn’t that child trope where you really wished the monster would eat her and put us, and the other characters, out of our misery. Add in a badass mech battle and a dripping Queen, and we’ve got ourselves an awesome movie. Strangely enough, I was occasionally more creeped out by Bishop than some of the other things in this film.

Insidious Chapter 2

I’ll admit, I had my hesitations on this particular movie. I loved the first Insidious, and as you can tell, I’m extremely opposed to having unnecessary sequels. This one was a movie I almost said no to. Honestly, I gave it a try only out of curiosity, and there’s something about Patrick Wilson that I really enjoy. Sometimes, he can be so creepy, but he’s also pretty charming in a weird way that I can’t quite put my finger on. Insidious II had a great twist to it that made it worth while as a sequel. I won’t spoil it, but I love the fact that this series focuses on the idea of astral projection rather than some other typical horror trope.

Scream 2

The Scream series is one of my favorite slasher series; I’ve probably watched all of the movies (except 4) a million times. As far as sequels go, Scream 2 was a satisfying watch. Was it as good as the first one? I wouldn’t say so. However, it had some cool things going on. One thing I loved was that there was real effort to keep the identity of the killer secret. Just like in the first movie, it was just about red herrings and dramatizing the obvious choice. The Scream movies always tried to actively keep the audience guessing. Also, Timothy Olyphant is one of my favorite actors and plays a fantastic psychopath (sociopath?). I will have to say, though, that I just about table-flipped when a certain dorky horror movie buff was brutally murdered. That was one death that I’m still mad about… even though the movie is over 15 years old.

Other sequels that are good include Silent Hill Revelation (which was way more true to the game franchise), Halloween H20, and Saw II, among others. There are also sequels that I watch out of loyalty to the franchise… at least until they get too stupid. For example, I enjoyed all of the Resident Evil movies even though a couple of them were a bit… uncouth. Are there sequels you enjoy? What about ones that surpass the first?

To save this part of my list from being hundreds upon hundreds of movies long, which it easily could have been be given my stance on horror sequels, I’ll pick my top three. It was incredibly hard to narrow the list down, but I was able to. Okay, these aren’t entirely my TOP three, but among the top sequels I refuse to watch on principle (or out of wanting to protect my braincells).

Hostel: Part II
Here’s the thing about this movie. One of the biggest reasons I refused to watch the second one was because the first one was probably the biggest piece of shit I’ve ever been forced to watch. The first 3/4 of the movie was practically a low budget porno that made me yawn and nearly roll my eyes out of my head with sarcastic boredom, and the final 1/4 was so absurd with the gore that I spent the entire glaring at the screen with hatred. Don’t get me wrong. I like gore and absurd ways to die, but this was so far out there in the realm of unbelievable and stupid that my brain seriously stopped functioning. Never in a billion years will I understand how the first movie was praised so much. So, why on earth would I watch the second one?

Child’s Play: Seed of Chucky

As I’ve mentioned before, I like bad horror movies—one of my absolute favorite F horror is Scarecrow Gone Wild, HILARIOUSLY AWFUL—but Seed of Chucky is one I couldn’t do. The thing is, I even enjoy watching the third movie in this franchise, which EVERYONE hates, and wasn’t even as bad as Bride of Chucky, but I could not bring myself to even grace Seed of Chucky with my presence. I stood up and said, “NOPE.” They might as well have made Chucky in Space, or some other equally ridiculous concept.

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
I know I already spoke about this franchise before, but this gem is just way too much to not include. I feel like there was a time in the 90s, and the first some-odd years into the 2000s, where the worst of the worst sequels were being created. We couldn’t just stop at Assblasters; oh no, we had to take the Back to the Future approach and go to the wild west. Not only that, this movie is supposed to be a prequel. A PREQUEL. One that stars Michael Gross who is acting as his character’s ancestor. Did anyone notice that the town’s name is REJECTION? Get it? Rejection-Perfection? Har, har, har! Genius!

Some other sequels that I flat out refused are The Hills Have Eyes II, The Evil Dead II, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, Messengers 2: The Scarecrow, and Leprechaun in the Hood (and in Space). Generally, I realize, it’s either first movies I adored or hated that I refuse to watch sequels to. There is no middle ground on this. Can you guess which ones listed are from movies I loved and which I hated? You might be surprised!

When I originally thought of this post series, I had intended on writing a “Top 5 Terrible Horror Movie Sequels” to discuss some of the awful sequels that have come out. As I tried to write my list, I realized that I actually haven’t watched as many bad sequels as I thought. It’s not that I haven’t watched sequels or watched about a million horror movies both good and hilariously bad, but I realized that the problem was that I pretty much refuse to watch shitty sequels to horror movies that shouldn’t have had a second (or third, or thirteenth) movie in the first place.

In the end, I decided that I would keep the lists short by giving three of each instead, and do it in a three-part series, which I’ll release once a week for the next three weeks. Imagine it as my “The Good, the Bad, and the Really Freaking Ugly” list. For Part I, I’ll talk about the “bad.”

After discovering that I’ve watched very few sequels due to straight up refusing to watch them, I had very few to choose from for my list. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen my share of sequels that fall into the “meh” range (I Know What You Did Last Summer and a few of the decent Halloween sequels, for example), but the following are three with enough substance to talk about. So, here are three terrible sequels I’ve seen.

Jason X

Do I really need to say more? I mean… TEN movies? The first two: okay, I get it, and they weren’t that bad. But really, anything after that was just too stupid. Let’s think about this: Jason… IN SPACE. I can’t even imagine how this went down during the conception and writing stage, and I definitely can’t think of anyone who would think this was a good idea. I often wonder what was going through the minds of these sequel writers. Did the guys purposely do the stupidest thing they could think of? Or were they actually serious here? (It should be noted that there were a lot of dumb sequels coming out at this time, so maybe it was just a phase in the horror genre?)

Poltergeist II

Even though this one could have been way worse, it was an extreme disappointment of a sequel to an awesome first movie. Maybe we all had high hopes and they were just dashed at every turn. While the movie has a really creepy old guy leering at a little girl all the time—and let’s face it, that IS creepy—it still doesn’t make for a good movie. Let’s put it this way, I fail to see the horror in swallowing a possessed worm from a tequila bottle and then, in turn, becoming possessed. Well, I do see the horror in its absurdity. Otherwise, it’s just too ridiculous.

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection

Just look at that Photoshop job. Ah, gotta love that crap. Okay, before you start laughing so hard you can’t continue reading, let me at least mention this one. While the original Tremors wasn’t exactly the greatest horror movie ever, it still had its merits. I like B horror movies and spent most of my childhood (and adulthood!) watching them with my dad and sister, but Tremors III isn’t even close to a B movie. I don’t know if it was the loss of Kevin Bacon (after 1) and then Fred Ward (after 2) that made it go awry, but I just can’t enjoy an alleged horror movie with butt-blasting monsters who fart explosives in order to fly. As if that isn’t bad enough, the humans spend the rest of the film (which is most of it) referring to them as “Assblasters.” I’m sorry, but no. Just no. Don’t get me wrong, if I’m having a crappy horror movie marathon, I might watch this one (or if it’s a Tremors marathon), but otherwise… no.

There are, of course, some others that are worth mentioning that, for whatever reason, I have seen: Bride of Chucky, Halloween 2, and Nightmare on Elm Street 2. Man, I really had to rack my brain for some of these. Just like I can predict the “twist” in a movie about five minutes in (I’m talking about you, The Unborn), I can tell when a sequel is not worth my time. In the next installment, I’ll talk about sequels so terrible I refused to watch them.

Do you want to win a free Kindle Fire? I bet you do! You can read about how below. But, before you enter, you should check out one of my fellow sponsors of this giveaway. Gord Rollo has a book called The Jigsaw Man. It sounds pretty epic and disturbing, so you should check it out. After, though, come back and follow the Rafflecopter directions to enter for a chance to win a free Kindle Fire.

A BROKEN MAN DOWN ON HIS LUCK…
Michael Fox is a homeless man living in a garbage dumpster beneath the Carver Street Bridge in Buffalo, NY. He’s bitterly depressed and ready to commit suicide; anything to put an end to his miserable existence.

AN OFFER TOO GOOD TO REFUSE…
When a mysterious billionaire surgeon offers Michael two million dollars for his right arm, he thinks his luck might be about to change. Little does he know that the surgeon has other plans for him. His arm is only the beginning. Bit by bit other pieces of Michael’s body are surgically removed; his natural body stripped away and then reassembled using other harvested parts from thirteen different ‘donors’.

A MODERN DAY FRANKENSTEIN…
Now Fox isn’t sure if he’s a man or a monster, or whether or not he’d be better off dead. One thing he is sure of though, he’s not checking out of this world until he finds a way to make the people responsible pay for turning him into the experimental nightmare known as… The Jigsaw Man.

So, I decided to show off the awesome cover for my next short story (novelette?). It’s called Misbegotten, and it’s about a video gamer who is being tormented by a mysterious video game that is a little too real. This story is expected to be available in May.

David Keegan (AKA ‘DavidScreamsLikeAGirl’) is a famous horror video gamer on the world’s largest video-sharing website. He makes great money doing something he loves, and his fans can’t get enough of his girly, over-dramatic screaming. One night, a mysterious fan gives him a bootleg copy of a game called Misbegotten. All of his viewers insist he play, but the clawed, ghostly antagonist David calls ‘the witch’ makes the whole endeavor terrifying. Even when he stops playing the game, she haunts him… Awake, asleep, the witch doesn’t care. All David can think about is the reoccurring message: “She will kill you.” Continuing the game could mean the end of his sanity, but stopping could mean the end of his life.

Since I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather and suffering from being stuck in my writing, I decided to pull out an old story I wrote and rework it. This is the story that I used to help get accepted into the Creative Writing program for my Master’s in Fine Art, so it has some sentimental value to me. Funnily enough, though, it was written quite a while ago (4 years or so) and is the kind of story that would be embarrassing for people to read as is now. I realize that I’ve grown as a write so much in the last four years, and this story is proof. I’ve always loved the story, so I’d like to bring it up to a higher level and then release it into the wild for all to read.

Ghost in a Bottle has a Sam Raimi horror feel to it, at least that was my intention. The sort of Raimi horror where it’s messed up, but you aren’t entirely certain if it’s supposed to be scary or funny because it ends up being a bit of both. Think Drag Me to Hell, though the original Evil Dead also qualifies. It’s that’s kind of story.

With all of that said, I thought I would show off the cover. Yes, it’s that close to publication. So, I hope you enjoy the eye candy as you wait for it to be available for purchase.

So, I know it has been a while since I posted, but I come baring gifts! A lot of crazy things happened during the last few months that made it difficult to be as active as I usually want. I’ve been doing my “day” job a lot more lately, trying to balance my projects, dealing with the holidays, hospital stays, and a move. They aren’t great excuses, but it was one of those situations where a lot of small things added up rapidly and have been making it difficult on me. I’m back, though, and hopefully with some fun stuff.

I’ve been working on continuing that flash fiction piece I wrote during the Halloween festivities last year. It was originally called “Wraith,” but since then, I have changed it to “Roadside Wraith.” It has a beautiful cover done by Yoly Cortez from Cormar Covers. The expected publication date is sometime in the first week of April. The cool thing is that if you sign up for my newsletter, you will have a chance to buy it before anyone else does!

After a heated argument with his long-term boyfriend, Greg speeds down a deserted country road in the middle of the night to get away. Despite his relationship problems, he finds himself focusing on the disturbing drive home rather than the anger he feels.

Kelly could kick himself. After the love of his life stormed out on their weekend getaway, he is left with a sinking feeling in his gut. Numerous attempts to call and reconcile with no luck makes him more determined to track Greg down… but what he finds is worse than he could have imagined.

**Roadside Wraith is a short story of 3,500 words, or 13 pages, long.**

I want to thank everyone who participated in this year’s Week of Creep! It was a blast for me, and I hope you all enjoyed your Halloween fun. So, it is now time to announce our winner.

MICHELLE WILLMS

Congratulations to Michelle! She won $25 in an Amazon gift card as well as a copy of both of my short: Creep and Portrait of a Ghost. I hope everyone will join me next year. Same time, same place, but maybe we’ll have an INSANE grand prize like a Kindle!

As everyone is gearing up for the most haunted holiday of the year, I thought it would be fun to talk about some movies that are readily available on Netflix. Most, if not all, of these movies aren’t big name films and most people have probably never heard of them. If you are looking for some great Netflix movies perfect for Halloween, then I would recommend any of these. I will, however, add a disclaimer that some of them are B horror movies, while others might seem like they were done by a group of college students. Low budget doesn’t mean the movie doesn’t have a cool story or some interesting ideas/elements. So, I’m picking these ones because they are the ones that people might not think to watch, but their uniqueness is what makes them so awesome.

The Occupant – This movie reminded me a lot of the Silent Hill 4 video game. This young man won’t leave his apartment, but continually more weird and disturbing things happening. It’s very difficult to tell whether there is something evil in the apartment or if it’s just the guy losing his mind. The Occupant isn’t a fast-paced gorefest or anything, but it takes its time building the mania. I consider this one a Netflix gem even though it’s not perfect.

The Possession of David O’Reilly – Okay, so this movie is a bit weird. From the first time we see the demon, the the end when all hell breaks loose, this is a strange and ambiguous concept. (You’ll notice ambiguity is my favorite horror motif.) These three friends are being tormented by a foul demon that only one of the characters can see. It’s basically about them trying to survive this thing that thrives in the darkness, but their only defense is a guy who is increasingly becoming a liability.

The Signal – This is a strange movie that has a slightly different twist on the concept of zombie. People become violent and crazy, they murder each other, and it’s insane, but this isn’t about the walking dead or anything. Basically, the main girl is cheating on her husband with this guy who ends up being the hero. We can see the husband is a total ass, and even though the two lead characters are flawed, the guy goes to incredible lengths to find and rescue the girl. Think Shawn of the Dead meets Stephen King’s Cell. It’s this bizarre movie, but you spend the entire time hoping this guy reaches the girl.

The Ward – Now, this one isn’t exactly horror in the traditional, Halloween sense, but it’s an interesting movie nonetheless. The Ward has this strangeness to it, and by the end, it makes you go, “Say whaaaat?” Basically, this girl is in a psych ward because she burned down a house. While there, she meets other girls with mental problems while being haunted by a ghost. Eventually, the girls start disappearing. I really love John Carpenter movies, and this one is no exception. It also has a pretty epic ending, but I don’t want to spoil it!

The Traveler – I know this one is a lot more widely known than most of the others I’ve listed, but I thought I would mention it. Val Kilmer is pretty cool in this even if he’s looking a rough lately. So, Val Kilmer turns himself in to the police, claiming he is a murder… but the murders haven’t happened yet. And yet, while he is locked up, the victims begin to die in the exact manner in which he claims. It’s a pretty cool movie, but it’s a bit predictable.

Really, I wanted to put From Within on this list, but sadly, it disappeared from Netflix instant within a day or so of my typing this entry. I was very sad about this. Of course, there are some others that are fun to watch, but are really terrible (in a good way!). For example, Chain Letter. This movie is hilariously bad, but the ending is pretty epic.

At any rate, that is my list! Please let me know what you think if you watch any of them or if you’ve already seen any of them. Also, if you haven’t signed up for the Week of Creep giveaway, yet, then please make sure you do it before Thursday!

Also, stay tuned for a very special Halloween post from me here on the Cole Knightly blog. I’ll be posting a second part to the Wraith story. My beta readers insisted that I write more, so I must oblige!

Finally, don’t forget that I’m giving away some great prizes for Week of Creep. You can sign up below!

Well, it’s that time of year. The bone-chilling, spine-shivering, ghost-seeing time of year where we celebrate all things creepy. I love this time of year, and it’s always great because normal television is filled with my favorite type of movie/show. In honor of this great time, I want to hold a giveaway. The grand prize includes copies of my two most recently published short stories and a $25 gift card to Amazon. Exciting right? So, if you’re interested in participating in the Week of Creep giveaway, please complete the entries below. Also, I’ll be posting links to some of my guest posts this week along with part two of a flash fiction story I wrote for Month O’ Screams, which is being hosted by Alex Westhaven.

So, Alex Westhaven is hosting an entire month of awesome horror and thriller related material in honor of one of my favorite holidays: Halloween. Not only can you win free ebooks from me, but also from other authors. Even better, you can get a weekly horror quote, read blog posts, and read some creepy flash fiction. Alex will be hosting a never before seen flash fiction piece of mine on the 25th, so keep your eyes open for that coming up.

Today on the blog, we have a cover reveal for Circus of Lost Souls by the amazing Rebecca Hamilton and Riley J. Ford. Sounds like it’s going to be a great read. I don’t know about you all, but I’m so excited to read this book. Don’t forget to sign up to be notified of the release and a chance to win a free copy of the book, too.

CIRCUS OF LOST SOULS

Cirque du Lune is killing off teenagers, but it’s all part of the act.

Or is it?

As the body count rises with each performance, one girl at this infamous theater-based summer camp finds herself contemplating what’s real and what’s not.

What if it’s not just a horror show, but a live snuff performance? What if the murders . . . are real?

* * *

Sign Up For Release Notification — When you do, you are automatically entered to win a free copy of the book, and you will also have an opportunity to purchase the book at the new release discounted price. We will only email you once for these purposes, and your email from this list will not be used for any other reason at any other time.

I’m excited to announce that ColeKnightly.com is now live and ready for your viewing. I hope everyone enjoys the new layout. The heading was made from a couple of stocks images by Natalie Paquette of deviantArt. It was fun because I got to use my new Wacom tablet (Bamboo Capture) to create the manipulation.

Other than that, I’m busy with teaching and working on some writing projects that I hope to share with everyone in the hear future. Also, I’m expecting to post a few flash fiction soon. In the mean time, feel free to browse the Stories tab above and check out my short stories available.

The mother was distraught. Cain wasn’t sure she’d be able to work through the anguish.

His pain had dissipated. The pull that had started up again quit after the baby was freed and the afterbirth had splattered onto the floor. Cain was left teeter-tottering over the woman’s torn vagina.

Cain was breathing heavy. The room was silent except for the mother’s sobbing. A few seconds passed before the baby’s mouth opened and a wail escaped. The room stirred back into motion. Frowns turned upside down. The dad, invited to cut the birth cord, stepped through Cain.

And it was back.

The pain, the puncturing, the PULL.

Cain struggled. He flailed. He tried to grab a hold of the doctor’s shoulders, but his hands went right through the white coat. He turned around and tried swimming back toward the door, but he couldn’t get any momentum.

The pull was too strong.

“Where are you taking me?” he yelled.

He was fine before. Before the pain, he felt at peace. His skin stretched back now. Back to where the pull wanted him to go. Back toward the doctor and the woman and the baby.

The writhing red fetus let out another wail. The hospital room blurred, and Cain’s life began to stutter in front of his eyes, like an old movie reel discovered in a box in a basement and fingerprints and dust and other wear have made it barely viewable. Lacey blows out six candles on her Smurf cake. She is wearing a red polka-dot dress. Cain’s father’s funeral. Brie throws a rose onto his father’s coffin as it descends into the damp earth. His first promotion at Kline, Wendell, and Starsky. He and Brie are having amazing sex. Brie’s pregnant with Lacey. She’s dancing to Van Morrison in the living room of their old apartment. Things are going faster now. He’s at prom with the prettiest girl in school. He’s just a boy with a bike. A nurse wearing horn-rimmed glasses hands his clean, pink body to Nancy Emmerick. His mother screams. The picture fades. Cain can hear a flapping noise like his reel has just ended.

He was back in the hospital room. Not much time, or no time at all, had passed. The doctor still held the baby. The baby was still attached to the mother by way of the umbilical cord.

Cain was starting to break apart. The more he resisted the pull, the more pieces of his body split away. A light enveloped him; it felt like he was on fire. Small bits of glowing flesh and hair and muscle tore off and shimmied into the baby’s open mouth. Soon, bits weren’t even distinguishable, collected in a stream of free-flowing light entering the baby.

Going, Cain thought, as he looked down and saw that his legs were gone. Going, Cain thought, as he looked down and saw he had no midsection. Going, Cain thought, as he looked down and saw no chest.

Gone.

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Beck Sherman was born and raised in Massachusetts. Beck attended Syracuse University undergrad, has a master’s degree in photojournalism from the University of Westminster, London, and when not writing, enjoys exploring abandoned insane asylums and photo-documenting the things that go bump in the night, when they’re kind enough to pose. Beck’s first novel Revamp is available now on Amazon.

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Goodbye Nothing is out on September 3rd! Go on over and check out the BBF cover reveal happening now at DyingToWrite.

Halloween Re-romanticized

I love the supernatural. Halloween, spooky stories . . . what writer/creator doesn’t? There are basically no rules, and the built-in intrigue of the unknown leaves a whole unwritten world for an author to dabble in. “A Tale of Two Cemeteries” was my first publication, and my only piece of work that falls in the horror category. I wrote the story for a contest, with the only rule being that it had to be Halloween themed.

Despite it being in the horror genre, the thought of writing something gory, scary, or sad, never even crossed my mind. I wanted to write a comedy, something quirky that would stand out and be memorable. My mission: to re-romanticize Halloween. Thus, “A Tale of Two Cemeteries” was born, which reeks of spookiness and suspense, humor and action, without ever crossing over into the gory side of the supernatural. Do I really believe in the concept of Deadworld and ghosts working on the “other side” to haunt humans? Nope. But the point is, what if?

Author Bio:

Maren is a stay-at-home mom, part-time piano teacher, cosmetologist, and writer. Amidst the business of being a housewife, she loves reading, writing and playing music, vacationing, going on dates with her hubby and friends, throwing dinner parties, and sewing.

Maren’s published work includes a short comedy titled “A Tale of Two Cemeteries,” a middle-grade reader titled The Treehouse, and The Faith and Fate of David Ghent, a Young Adult novel. Recently her novelette, The Pastiche, won an award and was featured in the YA anthology, Wonderstruck released by Clean Teen Publishing. Find out more about Maren at http://www.marendille.com.

It’s 2012 in Deadworld, and the ghosts are hungry for a good human haunting. All Charlie Quinn wants to do is keep his cemetery in business and live a normal, honest ghost life. But Julian McNabb, the ruthless owner of the cemetery across the street, always seems to steal his business. All of that changes when a teenage pop sensation dies and joins Charlie’s cemetery, and Charlie discovers that Julian’s success has come by some costly means. It’s up to Charlie’s haunting company and their new employee to keep their business afloat, and stop Julian from taking any more lives.

The Faith and Fate of David Ghent

In the Lucen city dwell the descendants of Righteous and Fallen angels. Kept hidden from the rest of Earth and governed directly by Heaven, each descendant is given a chance to prove themself loyal to Heaven, and obtain salvation. For most, the task is encouraging and fair, but for David, it’s devastating.

David Ghent has waited twenty-one years to fulfill a prophecy foretelling the destruction of Lucifer’s power on Earth and Heaven, saving himself and the entire world from Hell’s power. His training is complete, the city prepared. As the battle commences, the city’s most beloved daughter, Layla, suddenly appears at the Hellgate. David is then faced with an impossible choice: fulfill the prophecy, or save her life. The consequences David faces after choosing Layla force him to question his entire life, and his loyalty to Heaven. As the aftermath of failure unfolds, David discovers that the real battle against Lucifer has just begun.

The Treehouse

Ten-year-old Artie and his friends love two things: Molly Martin, and baseball. They are terrified of exactly two things: Molly Martin, and Old Lady Farnsworth, Artie’s crochety elderly neighbor.

When their baseball is stolen by Old Lady Farnsworth, Artie and his friends embark on a secret mission to steal it back. But they can’t do that without the help of Molly Martin, and she’s got her own set of likes and dislikes. Join Artie and his friends on the greatest summer adventure of their ten-year-old lives.

Wonderstruck: The Pastiche

A punishment far worse than death awaits Alim Hamal. Sylin Incorporated has a special punishment for their rogue assassins: uncovering the darkest moments in their subconscious, then watching as they relive them through virtual simulation. Only one assassin has ever escaped. Alim plans to be the second. The simulation demands the truth, something Alim has kept from his employers at all costs. But as his final moments emerge, Sylin will discover that the truth is Alim’s most dangerous weapon.

Hi everyone! For today’s Blogger Book Fair guest post, we have an interview with Michael Brookes. It’s a pleasure to have him here with us, so give him a warm welcome, okay?

-Please tell us a little bit about your book.

A new entity is born on the Internet, if finds itself attacked by anti-virus software and security systems. It assumes the attack is deliberate and responds. Is it really a new being, or a more ancient evil born into a new realm.

Sarah Mitchell is an analyst for GCHQ and investigates some of the crimes committed by the entity, can she unravel the truth before it is too late?-You are a video game producer, which is really awesome. Please tell us a little bit about what you do.

Essentially I run the team that develops a game. At the moment I am working on Elite: Dangerous (elite.frontier.co.uk), the sequel to a game that got me into gaming in the first place some 25 years ago – which is pretty cool. I work with the game’s creator and the team of programmers, artists, audio and designers to design and put the game together. I’m also helping to setup the fiction for the world and will be writing the game’s official tie-in novel.-How did you decide to become an author?

It all started with reading. Reading the good works of many authors inspired stories in my own mind. I’ve enjoyed writing short stories since a young age, but a few years ago I wrote my first novel (The Cult of Me) and I’ve been hooked ever since.-How does working so closely with video games help inspire your writing?

My job involves a lot of writing and it needs to be in a concise form, that’s help me develop tight writing. Games also have their own consistent and unlike readers, gamers can often just explore the world you create, so that backstory and the setting becomes more important than is usually the case.-Who is your favourite author and why?

Ian M Banks is the author of my favourite novel – Excession. For me the book epitomises every thing that is great about science fiction. It’s based on a big idea – how do you react when faced with something so far advanced beyond you. A great novel and it’s sad that we’ll not see any more from him.-Is there anything special or exciting you are working on that you would like to share with us?

I’m in the process of putting together a short story collection entitled ‘An Odder Quintet’, it’s the second short story collection I’ve written (the first was ‘An Odd Quartet’) and I’m hoping it will be released by the end of August.

Faust 2.0

Is it the rebirth of an ancient evil in a new realm? Or something much worse?

A sexy looking avatar grants wishes for people across the web, but nothing is truly free, and for those who accept, what price must be paid?

Sarah Mitchell must discover the truth of this creature and stop it while it can still be stopped, but why is a mysterious lawyer dogging her every step?

About Michael Brookes

Michael Brookes is an Executive Producer with a leading UK games developer. Working in games and writing are two of his life passions and he considers himself fortunate to be able to indulge them both. He lives in the east of England, enjoying starry skies in the flattest part of the country. When not working or writing he can sometimes be found sleeping. Which is good as that is where many good ideas come from.

Other Books by Michael Brookes

The Cult of Me

The first book in ‘The Third Path’ trilogy.

For too long he dwelt apart, watched those who passed him by. With his unique abilities he entered their minds and inflicted terrible suffering upon them. They didn’t even know who he was. The game has lasted for years, but now the game has become stale. On an impulse he decides to make a final and very public last stand. After surrendering himself to the police he enacts his plan to seize the prison for his final bloody act.There he discovers that he’s not as unique as he once thought.

Conversations in the Abyss

Stealing Lazarus’s miracle gifted him immortality. Combined with his natural ability of invading and controlling people’s minds this made him one of the most dangerous people on Earth.

But the miracle came with a price. His punishment was to be imprisoned within the walls of an ancient monastery and tormented by an invisible fire that burned his body perpetually. To escape the pain he retreated deep into his own mind.

There he discovers the truth of the universe and that only he can stop the coming Apocalypse.

An Odd Quartet – Drabble Enhanced Edition

A quartet of dark short stories (10,000 words total) each with a twist in the tale. The drabble enhanced edition also contains some of my favourite drabbles (100 word stories).

The Yellow Lady
Grave robbing is a dirty business, in more ways than one. When he disturbs the grave from a childhood scary story he discovers it’s not always treasure to be found.This Empty Place
At the heat death of the universe, Death contemplates his existence.

Forced Entry
Terrorists seize an average suburban house. A Special Forces hostage rescue team is sent in and encounter more than they were trained for.

The Reluctant Demon
A young demon prepares to take his possession exam.

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About the Author

Cole Knightly writes horror and supernatural thrillers. His debut short story, Portrait of a Ghost, was released in November 2012. Cole has a Masters in Fine Art with a Creative Writing emphasis. He enjoys playing horror and survival video games, which is also where he gets a lot of his inspiration from.